[Pharmwaste] Human Activity Blamed for Fish Ills (Potomac River)

Volkman, Jennifer Jennifer.Volkman at state.mn.us
Fri Feb 8 15:23:25 EST 2008


There are a lot of studies that point to the feminization of male fish
and there are studies showing that a lower percentage of males are being
born.  It is easy enough to look at a slide and see female eggs in a
male gonad.  All I've heard about females, generally humans, is that
girls are maturing earlier.  Are we just looking at physical changes
that are easy to see?  Are there any studies more specific to females?  

-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Tenace,
Laurie
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2008 7:00 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Human Activity Blamed for Fish Ills (Potomac
River)


'Human Activity' Blamed for Fish Ills
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/07/AR200802
07021
12.html?hpid=sec-health

By David A. Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writer 
Friday, February 8, 2008; Page B03 

Federal scientists seeking to learn why male fish in the Potomac River
are growing eggs said yesterday that they've made an important
determination: New research shows that the fish symptoms are worse in
streams near towns or near heavily farmed areas. 

That finding, announced today, does not pinpoint the pollutant that is
causing the "intersex" condition. It also does not answer questions
about whether the abnormal fish indicate a threat to human health, as
the Potomac is a major source of drinking water for the area. 

But it does seem to confirm what scientists have suspected since the
fish were first found in 2003. The cause, they said, is probably some
pollutant created by humans -- perhaps a farm chemical, or treated
sewage, which can contain human hormones or residue from birth-control
pills. 

Any of these might have fooled the fishes' natural hormone systems,
causing male fish to take on female characteristics. 

"I feel comfortable saying human activity" is the cause, said Vicki S.
Blazer, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and the primary
author of the study. "The question is, which human activity? And is it
something we can do anything about?" 

Scientists first found the abnormal fish in the South Branch of the
Potomac, a shallow tributary in West Virginia. Since then, they have
found gender-bending properties in several fish species and in Virginia,
West Virginia, Maryland and the District. The District site was near the
outfall of the Blue Plains sewage plant, close to the Woodrow Wilson
Bridge. 

Even after these discoveries, Blazer said, scientists were nagged by one
question: Was it possible that this condition was somehow natural, and
not caused by pollution? If so, the condition would show up everywhere,
not just in streams heavily affected by runoff from towns or farms. 

They then examined a control group of smallmouth bass, caught in
relatively pristine rivers outside the Potomac watershed in West
Virginia. Blazer said they did find some intersex characteristics in
these fish -- 22 percent of the male fish at the headwaters of the
Greenbrier River, for instance, seemed to be growing eggs. 

But Blazer said that conditions were much worse in the Shenadoah River,
which runs through an area of Virginia thick with poultry farms and
steadily gaining in population. In two of the three Shenandoah sites,
she said, every fish they dissected had eggs. 

She said this data seemed to confirm the theory that the more humans
live or farm nearby, the more likely fish are to be abnormal. 

Blazer said that the next step is to try to determine whether intersex
fish are in worse overall health than others. She said that, even if the
eggs do not harm the fish, the pollutants that cause them might also
degrade the fishes' immune systems or their organs. 



Laurie J. Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400
PH: (850) 245-8759
FAX: (850) 245-8811
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us 

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